Do you always tuck a book into a corner when you pack your suitcase? Are you unable to board a plane without a read to make the flight more pleasant? Do you like reading while listening to the sea waves in the background?
Undoubtedly, there are many travelers who cannot conceive of a trip without the company of a good book. We are like that and, for that reason, we want to remember just a few titles that flew with us, others that didn’t even reach their destination, and some that never came back…
Costa Rica
Perhaps there can be no better reading to enjoy Costa Rica than “Pura Vida” by José María Mendiluce. You don’t need to travel to this Central American country to transport yourself there and stroll through the Caribbean beaches of Puerto Viejo. Mendiluce takes you for free by the hand of Ariadna, his protagonist, who falls in love with a mulatto man and makes you feel an irrepressible desire to discover that ‘pura vida’ that the Ticos boast so much about.
During the transoceanic flight, I started and finished one of the most read books in that 2007: “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne. I would have gladly passed it to my travel companion, but I literally didn’t have time. The day after arriving in Costa Rica, our small backpack was stolen on a bus heading to La Fortuna. I hope at least the little thief, who caused us so much trouble, enjoyed the read.
Alaska
Sometimes, it is even a book that decides your next destination. That’s what happened to us with “The River of Light” by Javier Reverte, which came into Bruno’s hands via the Three Wise Men. We thank them because, surely, if we hadn’t read Reverte’s travel adventures, it might never have occurred to us to travel to a place as uncommon as Alaska. We encourage you to read it to see if it also awakens in you the itch to discover the last frontier.
If there is a book that has accompanied me from takeoff to landing, it has undoubtedly been “Traveler of the Century” by Andrés Neuman. I found it, shortly before leaving, at the Madrid Book Fair and its title compelled me to buy it. This long story of a somewhat strange traveler who, always accompanied by an enigmatic chest, decides to extend his stay in Wandernburg again and again, kept me entertained for the three weeks our journey through Alaska lasted.
Namibia and Botswana
Two countries, two books. I started “The Unheard-of Island” by Eduardo Mendoza at the airport while waiting to board our flight to Windhoek. I picked it up again a couple of days later in the red desert of Namibia at night, inside the tent, with my headlamp illuminating its pages. I couldn’t find out how the story of that man who had left everything, from one day to the next, to live in Venice ended. The book disappeared without knowing how, and I had to buy it upon returning to Madrid to discover the ending.
Already with my history of inexplicable losses (on that same trip my mobile phone also disappeared), I paid great attention not to lose sight of “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. Thus, I was able to be moved until the very last page by the relationship between those two children from Afghanistan.
Philippines
Soon, we will travel to Asia for the first time, heading to Hong Kong and the Philippines. Surely some of you can recommend the ideal reading for island hopping. Suggestions are welcome…. And you, what do you read when you go on a trip?
